All soybean producers in all soybean producing states participate in the checkoff program. The only exception is a producer who holds a current Certificate of Exemption issued by the United Soybean Board. Exempt producers must provide all first purchasers they transact with a copy of their Certificate of Exemption.

The first purchasers (elevator, terminal, processor, seed producer, trucker or extruder, etc.) collect the checkoff from the producer. First purchasers are required to collect on all soybeans purchased, regardless of the state-of-origin.